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Topeka man arrested after manhunt in Holton Sunday

Wed, 11/01/2017 - 16:28holtonadmin

By Brian Sanders

A Topeka man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after a late Sunday/early Monday manhunt that had local law enforcement officers advising Holton residents to lock their doors and stay inside.

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse and Holton Police Chief Gale Gakle said Randall Eugene Hartman Jr., 30, was captured at about 2 a.m. Monday near the former Central Elementary School, about five hours after Holton police officers received a report of an alleged aggravated domestic battery incident in the 500 block of Ohio Avenue.

Gakle said that in the original call, the alleged victim reported that Hartman was armed with a rifle after leaving the scene of the alleged incident on foot. However, no rifle had been recovered after a thorough search of the area, he added.

In addition to the attempted first-degree murder charge — which carries an in-the-alternative charge of aggravated battery — Hartman was charged in Jackson County District Court with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, criminal threat and criminal damage to property.

Hartman remains at the Jackson County Detention Center with bond set at $300,000. His first appearance was held Tuesday in district court, where a preliminary status hearing on the case is set for Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Gakle said his department received the aggravated domestic battery call at about 9:27 p.m. Sunday, with the caller indicating that Hartman was allegedly carrying a weapon and making threatening statements toward the caller.

“Apparently, there had been a domestic violence issue at the residence, and the woman said that Randall had left the area on foot carrying a duffel bag and a rifle,” Gakle said.

Police called in officers from sheriff’s offices in Jackson and Nemaha counties as well as the Kansas Highway Patrol to search for the subject, Morse said.

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